Am I Under Feeding?

[GreyhoundGirl]

I've switched from free feeding to feeding meals. Mason weighs 92 lbs and is getting 3 cups a day. Molly is 74 lbs and is getting about 2 cups a day. Dragoon, my never full foster is 80 lbs, gets about 2 1/2 cups a day.

 

The dogs are begging way more than they ever were before. Am I under feeding?

 

I feed about 7 am and about 5:30 pm (I've only forgotten to feed once 😏😳).

 

Pros and cons to both free and meal feeding.

[cleptogrey]

what kind of food?

calorie count per cup?

any add ins?

how much exercise do they get?

how old are they?

 

my dogs are in good weight and always are looking for food ....they are dogs...they all do that.the only dogs i owned a dog who didn't look and act hungry were my salukis. they are finicky eaters. all of my other dogs always were looking for good fortune in the way of food

[Hubcitypam]

It depends on the calorie denseness of the food you are feeding. Had quite a few 80-90 pounds dogs and they usually got 4 cups a day of mid range food. Cody the collie mix is 77 pounds and gets about 3 1/2 - 4 cups a day.

Three cups a day of any food for a 92# dog sounds pretty skimpy to me.

 

I free fed many dogs for many years until Poodle became diabetic. Neighsayers claim you don't know who is eating what etc. but I could tell by the sounds from the bowls who was eating (can do that now with water). My Bella would only eat in the dark.

Edited October 22, 2015 by Hubcitypam

[sarabz]

Bella is 65# and she gets about 2.5 cups a day of a high protein, grain free, high calorie, high end food. She also gets an XL Kong with pumpkin, yogurt, peanut butter which adds up to another dose of calories. She still always looks for food.

 

She gets 2- 3 walks a day, probably about a mile total most days. She is 10 and in great weight, good shape.

Edited October 22, 2015 by sarabz

[Beachbum1]

what kind of food?

calorie count per cup?

any add ins?

how much exercise do they get?

how old are they?

 

my dogs are in good weight and always are looking for food ....they are dogs...they all do that.the only dogs i owned a dog who didn't look and act hungry were my salukis. they are finicky eaters. all of my other dogs always were looking for good fortune in the way of food

This.

3 cups of one type of food could equal 5 cups of another type of food.

[PatricksMom]

Can you swing by the vet's for a weight check?

[GreyhoundGirl]

We just started this Saturday. Iams, the green bag. We walk 2-3 times a day for 10-20 minutes each so quite a bit of exercise. I feel like I probably need to increase their food. Mason and Dragoon (92 lbs and 80 lbs) need to drop a few lbs and Molly is perfect (the only one in the house who's kept her girlish figure. 😄

Edited October 22, 2015 by GreyhoundGirl

[Beachbum1]

How did you come up with daily feeding amount?

 

The green bag label shows a 50 pound dog feeding guideline of 2-1/4 to 2-3/4 cups a day.

[Hubcitypam]

Green bag or Purina One 4 cups worked for my big boys. Less for Purina Beyond as it is more calorie dense.

[GreyhoundGirl]

That's what someone suggested. I looked at the bag and it looked right. Did I read it wrong? Mason should be getting 5 cups and that's what he gets. Ignore the 3 cups in my original post, it's 5. The other 2 are right; but should they be getting more?

Edited October 22, 2015 by GreyhoundGirl

[Beachbum1]

That's what someone suggested. I looked at the bag and it looked right. Did I read it wrong? Mason should be getting 5 cups and that's what he gets. Ignore the 3 cups in my original post, it's 5. The other 2 are right; but should they be getting more?

hmmmm....if Molly was 50 pounds, then the 2 cups a day would not be enough

[JJNg]

What is their current body condition? What is your reason for switching from free feeding to meal feeding? Are you trying to get one or more of your dogs to gain or lose weight?

 

I look at a dog's weight to tell if they are getting an appropriate amount of food. If they are maintaining a healthy weight, then they are getting enough. How much food a dog *wants* often isn't how much food the dog *needs* (probably applies to many of us humans too...).

 

Don't worry about the bag guidelines for feeding amounts. Every dog's metabolism is different. I've had dogs that needed less than what's listed on the bag, and others that need more. Those are just general guidelines.

[kronckew]

using measuring 'cups' are not very accurate, measuring by volume is at best a guesstimate.

 

i have a measuring cup i got from a kibble manufacturer with suggested lines on the transparent cup. i filled it to the line as close as i could and weighed it. the weight varied by almost 15% or so no matter how careful i was. it varies even in the same brand with same ingredients, depending on the kibble size, ie. small breed kibble is smaller, so weighs more for the same volume than large breed larger kibble.

 

i go by weight now. poppy gets 95 grams twice a day of a (applaws brand) 75% meat/25% veg, grain free kibble with a couple of tablespoons of wet mixed in to make it more interesting (picky saluki genes i guess). her poo volume has at least halved and is no longer the soft mushy (and smelly) tan mess. being more dense, it stimulates her anal glands more too, one less worry.

 

the kibble comes with a suggested feeding chart listing dog weight vs. kibble per day weight range and activity level, i cut that out of the bag & taped it to the message board near where i prepare her food. it varies from brand to brand and sometimes with the flavour, ie. chicken or lamb or fish as main ingredient. i interpolated between the values for a target poppy weight of 25 kilos. (she gets doggy treats on top of course)

Edited October 22, 2015 by kronckew

[cleptogrey]

i have never followed the "suggested feeding" on the bag.

 

i go by their weight and condition. as mentioned it's how your dog does on the food- annie(8 yrs) weighs 65# and eats a total of 3c daily, felix(8 yrs 8mo) 78# and consumes somewhere between 3.5 & 4 cups depending upon how many hrs. we walk. generally i try to keep him at the lower feeding. the food i use has 390 per cup. the Iams green bag is 342 calories per cup. i use a science diet 8 oz cup measure.

 

when they were younger it was 4 cups each. yes, annie is smaller but burns it up.

[Guest xengab]

We got told to adjust by body condition and "look". IS his ribs showing more/less, or back bone showing more or less?

 

My 85lb boy eats 3 3/4 cups of food per day. (factoring in the wet food we add). But his food is very calorie dense and he is not a big eater.

[Guest DarkHorse]

As others have said, what you need to feed varies widely, even within the same food and with the same dog.

 

We've fed the Kirkland Chicken and Rice all along, which has about 390 calories per cup.

 

Araley (55-60lbs) ate anywhere from 2 cups in the summer to 3 cups in the winter. She would self-regulate herself and rarely got too thin or too heavy.

 

Dexter (65-70lbs) varies between 2.5 and 3.5 depending on a few things, including season, activity, and how he's eating. He, however, will always eat, so we have to watch him and modify how much we give him.

 

Cole is about the same weight and eats about the same as Dexter. So far, he's pretty comfortable at the 3 cup mark.

 

KB is a little bigger, about 75lbs, and he eats about 3.5-4 cups. We're still feeling him out in terms of ideal condition and amount of food, but the 3.5 seems like it will be the right maintenance amount once we get him at a weight we're happy with.